“Over the last 5,500 years… about 15,000 wars have taken place on our planet… more than 3.5 billion people have been killed in these wars… there have only been 292 peaceful years in the entire history of mankind.” Pravda, Russian State Newspaper, Weapons of the Future - Weather, Plasma and Money, 26 September 2003
Estimates of deaths from the two Atomic Bombs range from 115,000 to 340,000. If the latter is correct -- and it is closer to the historical consensus -- the two nuclear devices used by the United States in August 1945, on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killed almost as many Japanese as all the Americans killed in all the battles of World War II. It is often thought that these bombs won World War II; that is not true. The Japanese Empire was rapidly spinning out 0f control and basically awaiting collapse. What is true is that these two weapons ended World War II and may have actually saved lives.
This is the story behind the building of the Atomic Bombs... from a social science prospective. Information contained in this work is broad-based. Scientific reference is made only as it pertains to the historic record and as reflective of the needs of the non-scientist reader. The magnificent work of the tens of thousands of mathematicians, chemists, physicists, laborers, and the intelligence community, are little more than summarized in this work. Nonetheless, accuracy of the general outcome is fairly represented.
The matter-of-fact willingness of our brightest minds to build an Atomic bomb remains haunting. In the silence of the pre-dawn New Mexico darkness, on July 16th, 1945 the assembled scientific community gathered in anticipation of what they were about to unleash. As they took shelter in bunkers and trenches, at least six miles from the detonation point, there remained a very high degree of apprehension within the assembled scientific community as to the outcome of the test. Would the implosion concept work? Could a chain-reaction be attained? (Some within the scientific community feared a chain-reaction might actually ignite the atmosphere and end the world.)
Scientist Isidor Rabi, who won the betting pool on how big the bang would be by guessing the equivalent of 18,000 tons of TNT - it was measured at 18,600 - opened a bottle of whiskey and passed it among the assembled scientists; each man took a swig. For his part, as he watched the column of fire and dust climb seven miles in the sky, scientist (and later director of the Los Alamos Laboratory) Kenneth Bainbridge said "Now we are all sons of bitches.” Similarly, quoting a Hindu text, physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer murmured, "Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds."
(Above: The first Atomic bomb, code named “The Gadget”, is detonated at the Trinity Test Range (in the Valley of the Dead) near Alamogordo, New Mexico, on 16 July 1945, at 5:30 a.m. Mountain War Time. The nearest observer was approximately 6 miles away. Hint: Watch for the shock wave rolling across the desert floor; also, watch the shock wall as it approached the railcars that were placed closer to the blast. Also, listen to the low moan of the blast.)
(Above: General Leslie Groves (left), military head of the Manhattan District Project, with Professor J. Robert Oppenheimer (right), scientific head of the project. The effort to build the Atomic bomb, without doubt, was the most concentrated intellectual effort in history. Never before in the history of mankind had so much brain-power and resources been focused onto a single goal. These two men deserve the lion's share of the credit for the bombs successful development.)
The building of the Atomic bomb ultimately fell to Major General Groves who was a brilliant engineer in his own right - Groves oversaw the building of the US Pentagon in Washington DC. Initially, Groves was however an outside bet to ever attain the command of the project. As a US Army Colonel, he jumped several higher ranking career officers to gain the appointment to head up the Manhattan District Project. Upon his promotion, Groves went - almost overnight - from Colonel to Major General. General Groves proved to be a logistical genius. His efforts to garner the materials needed to develop the weapon were nothing short of spectacular.
Once appointed to head the Manhattan Project, in turn, Groves went outside the accepted norm when he placed the scientific effort into the hands of the genius theoretical physicist Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer too was an outside bet to lead the scientific effort. From the very beginning - and throughout the entire development phase -"Oppy" carried a great deal of political baggage. Because he maintained close relationships with several members of the American Communist Party, Oppenheimer was constantly on the intelligence community’s radar screen as someone with highly questionable security clearance concerns. Later, American politicians returned to these relationships to destroy Oppenheimer's image and wrongfully sabotage his abilities to counter further nuclear weapons development, specific to the Hydrogen Bomb, which he was adamantly against. By stripping him of his security clearance, America removed the "Father of the Atomic bomb" from furthering nuclear weapons discussions. This action effectively destroyed Oppenheimer’s brilliant career and remains something most historians agree amounts to nothing short of a sham.
These two men spearheaded the effort to build the world's first a nuclear weapon; and, they were polar opposites. Groves was a heavy man who did not drink and detested what he saw as the glitz of a fast paced social life. For his part, Oppenheimer was a slightly built man, drank often, and enjoyed the partying aspects of a social agenda that well exceeded Groves’ level of tolerance. America was extremely fortunate to have had these two men available to work on the same project at this most critical point in history. It is generally given that a lesser man in either role would have doomed the entire project.
The main allies in this effort consisted of the Canadians, British, and Americans. Due to pre-World War II political realities, the Soviets were not invited to contribute to the A-bomb development. In truth, the democracies probably feared we would be using the weapon against the Soviets at some point in the future; ergo, Stalin was not invited to contribute to the effort.
While there were sites all over America, Britain and Canada working on bomb theories and components, the lion’s share of this work was performed in the United States. Included in the American development effort was the literal building of three secret cities: LosAlamos, New Mexico; Oak Ridge, Tennessee; and Hanford, Washington.
(Above: Los New Mexico was the home of the brain trust responsible for the design and assembly of the weapons. Today, the Los Alamos National Laboratory remains America
Estimates of deaths from the two Atomic Bombs range from 115,000 to 340,000. If the latter is correct -- and it is closer to the historical consensus -- the two nuclear devices used by the United States in August 1945, on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killed almost as many Japanese as all the Americans killed in all the battles of World War II. It is often thought that these bombs won World War II; that is not true. The Japanese Empire was rapidly spinning out 0f control and basically awaiting collapse. What is true is that these two weapons ended World War II and may have actually saved lives.
This is the story behind the building of the Atomic Bombs... from a social science prospective. Information contained in this work is broad-based. Scientific reference is made only as it pertains to the historic record and as reflective of the needs of the non-scientist reader. The magnificent work of the tens of thousands of mathematicians, chemists, physicists, laborers, and the intelligence community, are little more than summarized in this work. Nonetheless, accuracy of the general outcome is fairly represented.
The matter-of-fact willingness of our brightest minds to build an Atomic bomb remains haunting. In the silence of the pre-dawn New Mexico darkness, on July 16th, 1945 the assembled scientific community gathered in anticipation of what they were about to unleash. As they took shelter in bunkers and trenches, at least six miles from the detonation point, there remained a very high degree of apprehension within the assembled scientific community as to the outcome of the test. Would the implosion concept work? Could a chain-reaction be attained? (Some within the scientific community feared a chain-reaction might actually ignite the atmosphere and end the world.)
Scientist Isidor Rabi, who won the betting pool on how big the bang would be by guessing the equivalent of 18,000 tons of TNT - it was measured at 18,600 - opened a bottle of whiskey and passed it among the assembled scientists; each man took a swig. For his part, as he watched the column of fire and dust climb seven miles in the sky, scientist (and later director of the Los Alamos Laboratory) Kenneth Bainbridge said "Now we are all sons of bitches.” Similarly, quoting a Hindu text, physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer murmured, "Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds."
(Above: The first Atomic bomb, code named “The Gadget”, is detonated at the Trinity Test Range (in the Valley of the Dead) near Alamogordo, New Mexico, on 16 July 1945, at 5:30 a.m. Mountain War Time. The nearest observer was approximately 6 miles away. Hint: Watch for the shock wave rolling across the desert floor; also, watch the shock wall as it approached the railcars that were placed closer to the blast. Also, listen to the low moan of the blast.)
(Above: General Leslie Groves (left), military head of the Manhattan District Project, with Professor J. Robert Oppenheimer (right), scientific head of the project. The effort to build the Atomic bomb, without doubt, was the most concentrated intellectual effort in history. Never before in the history of mankind had so much brain-power and resources been focused onto a single goal. These two men deserve the lion's share of the credit for the bombs successful development.)
The building of the Atomic bomb ultimately fell to Major General Groves who was a brilliant engineer in his own right - Groves oversaw the building of the US Pentagon in Washington DC. Initially, Groves was however an outside bet to ever attain the command of the project. As a US Army Colonel, he jumped several higher ranking career officers to gain the appointment to head up the Manhattan District Project. Upon his promotion, Groves went - almost overnight - from Colonel to Major General. General Groves proved to be a logistical genius. His efforts to garner the materials needed to develop the weapon were nothing short of spectacular.
Once appointed to head the Manhattan Project, in turn, Groves went outside the accepted norm when he placed the scientific effort into the hands of the genius theoretical physicist Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer too was an outside bet to lead the scientific effort. From the very beginning - and throughout the entire development phase -"Oppy" carried a great deal of political baggage. Because he maintained close relationships with several members of the American Communist Party, Oppenheimer was constantly on the intelligence community’s radar screen as someone with highly questionable security clearance concerns. Later, American politicians returned to these relationships to destroy Oppenheimer's image and wrongfully sabotage his abilities to counter further nuclear weapons development, specific to the Hydrogen Bomb, which he was adamantly against. By stripping him of his security clearance, America removed the "Father of the Atomic bomb" from furthering nuclear weapons discussions. This action effectively destroyed Oppenheimer’s brilliant career and remains something most historians agree amounts to nothing short of a sham.
These two men spearheaded the effort to build the world's first a nuclear weapon; and, they were polar opposites. Groves was a heavy man who did not drink and detested what he saw as the glitz of a fast paced social life. For his part, Oppenheimer was a slightly built man, drank often, and enjoyed the partying aspects of a social agenda that well exceeded Groves’ level of tolerance. America was extremely fortunate to have had these two men available to work on the same project at this most critical point in history. It is generally given that a lesser man in either role would have doomed the entire project.
The main allies in this effort consisted of the Canadians, British, and Americans. Due to pre-World War II political realities, the Soviets were not invited to contribute to the A-bomb development. In truth, the democracies probably feared we would be using the weapon against the Soviets at some point in the future; ergo, Stalin was not invited to contribute to the effort.
While there were sites all over America, Britain and Canada working on bomb theories and components, the lion’s share of this work was performed in the United States. Included in the American development effort was the literal building of three secret cities: LosAlamos, New Mexico; Oak Ridge, Tennessee; and Hanford, Washington.
… and, then there was Wendover Army Airfield…
In summary, it should be noted that America did not get into the bomb race until 1943. In fact, Britain and Canada, initially sought to go it alone – exclusive of their American ally. When it became apparent that Canada did not possess enough hydropower to meet the projected energy requirements, the Brits and Canadians opened up to American participation in the race – supposedly to build the bomb before Hitler’s Nazi Germany could do it.
Hitler was never close to building an Atomic bomb. Nazi Germany contributed to the advance of technology in two other areas, jet aircraft and missile technology. The Nazi war machine was tantalizingly close to winning the war – much closer than they have ever been acknowledged for having been.
Had the German ME-262 jet aircraft come into play 12 to 18 months earlier, there would have been little doubt American and British heavy bombing raids would never have been successful. Likewise, the German V-1 and V-2 missiles were remarkably successful – even in their first-generation crude form. Giving credit where it is deserved, the world’s first cruise missile was successfully used in war by the Nazis in the Mediterranean Sea. Also, as an intermediate range ballistic missile (IRBM) the V-1 and V-2 struck terror in the hearts of Great Britain.
It would have been a relatively short span of time until the Germans developed the first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) which would have made the United States a target of the early generation missiles. You need look no further than the interests given to the German rocket facility located at Peenemunde by the Americans and Soviets to realize how much further advanced in these areas the Germans were than the allies. America’s entire rocket program would ultimately be birthed on the backs of German scientist rounded up and sent to America. Had German ex-patriots not been the backbone of America’s space program, it would have been a one-horse-race to space and the Soviets would have won in a laugh.
Back to the point, though; Nazi Germany had put its money on jets and rockets. Certainly the Nazis were involved in an Atomic program; but not to any serious degree. But in 1943, when America was getting into the race, whoever built the bomb would win the war... and the US and her allies thought they were behind the Germans. It was a world that could be dominated by the Nazis or by the democracies… but whomever dominated would do so as a result of having unlocked the power of Atomic weapons. That projection was exactly correct, too.
The United States entry into the race to build a bomb is all the more impressive when consideration is given to the building of those four cities/facilities. Even though it was a time without satellites orbiting the Earth - which could have allowed an opponent to “see into your back yard” - the ability to construct such immense facilities and operate on such a dynamic scale - employing tens of thousands of people, while keeping it hidden from the press and public... remains difficult to fathom.
It is also worth pointing out that these facilities we not operating on a 9 to 5 time clock. They ran 24 hours a day, seven days a week; while individuals may have taken leave, the project groaned on, unfazed by weekends or holidays.
Whether you are a proponent or opponent of the use of nuclear weapons; there can be nothing short of absolute admiration for the abilities of the United States to garner the power and resources, human and material, to pull off such a feat. The time, energy, resources, and sacrifices, expended by the United States on the development of this horrific weapon – while fighting a war of global proportions and arming and feeding allies – is simply unbelievable in view of the world we live in, today.
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